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C64 emulator on Ouya – .crt files

I had no idea that the free C64 emulator found in the Ouya app store (C64 EMU) supports C64 cartridge files and so it was a pleasant surprised to find that they work after loading one in error!

My collection of C64 games and demo images I have on my Ouya’s usb stick is a straight copy from the SD card I use in conjunction with my SD2IEC device which I use on my real Commodore 64 (see various blogs posts in the Commodore Category on the right hand side if you’re interested in the the coolest bit of kit for the c64). It also contains a bunch of .crt cartridge files including some custom collections that I’ve created using Drako’s cart maker for use on my C64 EasyFlash cart

Any-ho, I’d selected one to load whilst messing around with my Ouya thinking it was a regular .d64 image and it wasn’t until I saw the Easyflash menu that I realised that this was one of the custom cartridge images.

A selection of classic C64 cartridge images with a handy EF menu for navigation.

I’ve also tried the cartridge release only of Prince of Persia which works perfectly too.

Hmm, no need to cram this into the USB port then 😉

So there you go. If you’re a C64 fanatic curious about the Ouya, you’ll be pleased to know it supports C64 d64, png and crt files. It’s also worth noting that multi disk swapping is simple too.

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22 responses to “C64 emulator on Ouya – .crt files”

Hey Stiggy. Do you have SID Engine option in options -> audio? No such option in iOS version. I believe emulator is using FastSID, but reSID sounds better (albeit higher CPU cost) SID Engine is an advertised feature of the C64.emu on Robert Broglia’s site so I guess it might be arriving soon. Version tested is 1.5.12

How does the emulator behave? Ignoring the real C64 for a bit, does it compare against PC emulation?

The C64 was the first computer I ever remember playing games on and am really interested in getting back into it, coupled with my interest for the Ouya already, this is starting to look like a good purchase.

Well it’s a damn snazzy little emulator for C64 gaming and running demos etc and hasn’t croaked at any image that I’ve chucked at it. The frontend is a breeze to operate and is perfectly adapted to input just with the Ouya Controller. Each (redefinable) controller button gives you access to plenty of standard options as well as the ability to bring up a virtual C64 keyboard on screen in the event that you need to press the odd Runstop or Spacebar, function key etc. This can be controlled either with the pad/buttons or with the trackpad built into the controller. I’ve not really needed to remap any of the default buttons so far though as all appear to suit my needs perfectly.

It’s also worth noting that one of the buttons acts as a turbo load button. C64 disk images load pretty quickly anyway, but if you want warp speed loading, hit the button and the game loads almost instantly….also handy to speed up the looooong intros.

There’s also a button to swap ‘C64’ joystick ports so no more ‘Alt J’/remapping like with Vice.

How this compares to C64 emulation on the PC? Well i guess it’s about the same really other than the trade off is not having a proper PC keyboard for those loooooong coding session…..but on the flip side, with the Ouya, you’ve got a fully emulated C64 that you can operate wirelessly from the couch!

If you’re interested I could do a quick video showing C64.EMU in action?

I’ve been trying to get this emulator to work on my Ouya, with no success. I realize that there are files to download, but I’m obviously placing them in the wrong place. Would you be so kind as to help myself and others get this ball rolling. The Ouya forums instructions are cryptic at best. Thank you in advance.

Hi Michael – just so i’m understanding correctly, so with the virtual keyboard displayed on screen within c64.emu you can’t use the ouyas trackpad to move the mouse cursor over to the virtual keyboard and select various keys?

I can see the OUYA keyboard when I right click the right thumb stick. I can move the cursor around, but no buttons recognize as a click. I can’t type anything. On YouTube I see someone using a DIFFERENT style virtual keyboard (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y43FJsLqzIY – look at one minute) am I supposed to have that style virtual keyboard instead of the OUYA default keyboard and if so, how do I get it to display?

I’m guessing that, as most of the apps were meant for or derived from android tablets and phones, the Ouya’s trackpad needs to simulate a touchscreen including single and double taps to launch and select stuff. Great idea on Ouyas part to include it really.

There’s a flash cartridge for the C64 called an Easy Flash. With this you can copy c64 cartridge images to it for playback on a real c64. The Easy Flash only has 1mb of storage so only a few games can fit on it. However, as a lot of early c64 cartridge / disk games are quite small, using a utility called Draco cart maker, it’s possible to take a selection of classic c64 and combine them into one 1mb cartridge file and transfer to the EasyFlash cartridge. It also creates a handy launching menu such as the one shown in my picture.

The file that’s created is a standard .crt file so it can also be used on emulators including c64.emu on the Ouya.

If you look in the c64 category on my blog you’ll find a few posts about this including links to the software etc.

It’s worth having a play around with as its quite useful for emulation.

I know it’s me being a plum, been looking for the link for the software we were talking about however can’t see it= I’ve missed it when scanning your other Commodore posts! Can you point me in the direction please?
Also you think game base is decent and worth a try?

Game Base is pretty good if you want a nice Windows frontend for your c64 games collection as you can customise it with screenshots, SID tunes and box art. It’s also great for making customised games lists or to help sort through and categorise your c64 files if your collection is quite large. I don’t use it that often myself these days as I tend to use a real c64 for gaming (or the occasional session with Vice64 or c64.emu), but I did use it extensively on my C64-PC project I completed a few years ago.